Progress towards Sustainable Production: Environmental, Economic, and Social Assessments of the Cellulose Nanofiber Production Process

Dami Moon, Masayuki Sagisaka, Kiyotaka Tahara and Kenichiro Tsukahara
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Dami Moon: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan
Masayuki Sagisaka: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan
Kiyotaka Tahara: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan
Kenichiro Tsukahara: National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, 16-1 Onogawa, Tsukuba, Ibaraki 305-8569, Japan

Sustainability, 2017, vol. 9, issue 12, 1-16

Abstract: We assessed the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the process for producing cellulose nanofibers (CNFs), which are considered to be a valuable sustainable woody biomass feedstock. The greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions associated with CNF production are greater than the emissions associated with producing most plastic materials used in vehicle components because the grinding process during CNF production generates significant GHG emissions. The cost of CNF production is also higher than the cost of producing comparable plastics for automotive use because of the high cost of the pulverization process. The sensitivity analysis in this study suggested that GHG emissions and manufacturing costs could be reduced by 19.1–76.4% and 3.6–12.2%, respectively, by improving the energy efficiency of CNF production by two to five times. We compared the potential social risks associated with CNF production between Japan and Vietnam using a product social impact life cycle assessment database. It is desirable to reduce the social risk on the fair salary and child labor, and to improve the safe and healthy living conditions in the local communities that import wood chips harvested in Vietnam.

Keywords: cellulose nanofibers (CNFs); greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions; social risk; woody biomass (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: O13 Q Q0 Q2 Q3 Q5 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2017
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (4)

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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jsusta:v:9:y:2017:i:12:p:2368-:d:123402

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